ACC Semis Preview: Top-5 Battle for Title Game Spot

CARY, N.C. – It’s a rematch and another top-5 showdown with more than just ACC Tournament implications on Thursday night for Notre Dame women’s soccer. The No. 4 nationally ranked Fighting Irish will once again collide with No. 5 Florida State, this time in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The two will not only be fighting for a spot in Sunday’s title game, but ultimately a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as well.

First touch is set for 8 p.m. ET inside WakeMed Stadium. The match will air live on ACC Network.

ACC TOURNAMENT

Notre Dame joined the league back in 2013 and are searching for its first appearance in the ACC Tournament Final.  

The Irish are 1-7-1 all-time in the ACC Tournament. They’ve appeared in the semis twice (2014 & 2016) and its lone win was a quarterfinal matchup in 2016. 

Prior, Notre Dame dominated the Big East with 11 Tournament Titles, posting a 37-5-1 record in the league tourney over 17 appearances. 

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD ALSO …

mark Coach Norman’s best year at the helm, already surpassing last year’s win total of 14. 

THE OTHER PRIZE ON THURSDAY

In Monday’s RPI update it went No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 UNC, No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 6 Duke. That’s right – four ACC teams in the 3-6 spots and all four teams that are in Cary on Thursday. So yes, these four teams are battling for a spot in Sunday’s final, but also 1-2 spots that could be up for grabs in terms of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

RED-HOT ALBERT

Nothing like hitting your stride down the stretch. 

Albert recorded braces at Wake Forest and vs Duke to end the regular season. She has ultimately scored eight goals over the last seven games, which includes three game-winners. 

In addition, she scored free-kick goals in both the Virginia Tech and Wake Forest games and has three total on the season.  

ITS PLACE AMONG THE BEST

The Irish have made major statements all season long to boost their resume. Take this stat — 4-1-2 against the top-25. 

Notre Dame defeated then No. 2 Virginia 1-0, No. 3 Florida State 4-0 and tied both No. 11 Duke and No. 19 Pitt. 

Notre Dame earned two top-three wins during the regular season for the first time in program history. 

The victory over FSU was its largest win against a top-3 program since Sept. 8, 2000 (6-1 win over #2 Santa Clara). Furthermore, the last time Florida State lost by 4 goals in an ACC matchup was on Oct. 15, 2002 against #2 UNC by a score of 5-1.

IRISH DOMINATE ACC AWARDS

The culmination of a fantastic regular season has led to not only the Irish claiming their first “of the Year” award in the program’s ACC era, but in fact several. 

ACC Coach of the Year: Nate Norman

ACC Midfielder of the Year: Korbin Albert

ACC Defender of the Year: Eva Gaetino

Notre Dame also tied its most ever All-Conference selections (five prior in 2016 as well):

First Team: Olivia Wingate, Korbin Albert, Eva Gaetino

Third Team: Maddie Mercado, Mackenzie Wood

All-Freshman Team: Leah Klenke

IRISH RESUME

In the RPI rankings on Oct. 31, the Irish came in at the No. 5 spot behind UCLA, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida St.

Notre Dame is 3-2-2 against the current RPI Top-25. Furthermore, the Irish are 7-2-2 against the Top-50.

Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks 16th in the country.

HOLD THE LINE

The Irish backline of Gaetino, Hudson and Klenke have only allowed 50 shots on goal over 18 games – which equates to a stout 2.8 SOG per game. 

6 games this season the Irish backline has only allowed 1 SOG or fewer: NC State (Oct. 6), Boston College (9/30), Virginia (9/22), Saint Louis (8/25), Western Michigan (8/21) and Marquette (8/18).

Notre Dame’s defensive/goalie crew boasts 11 shutouts on the year.Their shutout percentage of 0.611 ranks 12th in the country.

Notre Dame’s GAA of 0.604 ranks 19th in the country and 2nd in the ACC. 

Mackenzie Wood in particular has been stellar in net as her 0.454 GAA ranks 8th in the nation, 1st in the ACC. Wood has only allowed 6 goals in 13 games. Furthermore, she has collected 9 shutouts, which rank 16th in the nation and lead the ACC. 

BREAKAWAY NUMBERS

The importance of scoring first? Well, the Irish are 14-0-1 and undefeated when doing so. Irish are also 9-0-1 when leading at the half. 

Notre Dame is averaging 8.9 shots on goal per game, which ranks 10th nationally (1st in ACC). Overall, the Irish are averaging 19.3 shots per game, which ranks 11th nationally (1st in the ACC).

In comparison, shots on goal differential sits at 160-50. 

All those shots have led to 42 goals on the year and a scoring offense (2.3) that ranks 16th in the nation.   

Olivia Wingate —   3rd in ACC in goals per game (0.61) // 25th in points per game, 2nd in ACC (1.5) // 3rd in SOG per game, 1st in ACC (2.5) // 25th in total goals, 2nd in ACC (11) // 18th in total points, 2nd in ACC (27).

Maddie Mercado — 22nd in game-winning goals, 1st in ACC (4).

Korbin Albert — 22nd in game-winning goals, 1st in ACC (4) // 5th in ACC in goals per game (0.59) // 4th in ACC in points per game (1.41)

Mackenzie Wood — 8th in  GAA (.454), 1st in ACC // 16th in shutouts, 1st in ACC (9)

OFFENSIVE SPARKPLUGS 

Notre Dame has tallied a 42-11 goal aggregate over the 2022 season. Out of the 42 goals – it’s come from 9 different players: Wingate (11), Albert (10), Mercado (8), Van Zanten (6), Klenke (2), Ospeck (2), Coyle, Fisher and Gaetino. 

Mercado and Wingate are having career years up top, much like how Sammi Fisher did a year ago. Mercado boasts a career high in goals (8) and game-winners (4).

Meanwhile, Wingate has flown past her previous career high of seven with 11 goals this year. Quite frankly, she’s doing it all, leading the team in both goals and assists (5). 

Now add in Albert and Van Zanten to complete the four-headed monster that is the Irish attack. As a foursome, they have contributed 74.6 percent of the team’s points. 

— ND —